Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

[ErikH]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

and a wah set at midpoint.

Yup, can't forget the wah. And for the more recent Schenker, add a couple bottles on Coghac in to the mix....LOL.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

actually, i think my laney is getting pretty close now. i heard that he used a mxr dist+. i wonder if that together with my laney will give me something similar.

don't get me wrong though, i don't want to cop his sound. i just like how he gets just enough gain to sound like hard rock or even metal at times, but still have really great tone.

The MXR Dist+ is alright. It's not the best distortion out there. I think the Wylde OD or a Boss SD-1 or Bad Monkey would work much better. You can get a smoother tone with an overdrive versus a distortion. The clipping is totally different between the two types.

Gilbert used Laney's for quite a long time, pretty much all through the 90's and still does I think, although I've seen his face with the Marshall Vintage Modern as of late. He uses his volume control A LOT. I don't know how much you use your volume control on your guitar to vary the push and dynamics, but Paul does that quite a lot. Roll back for some clean, up a little more for mild drive, up all the way for the kick in the head.

Getting great tone doesn't happen over night. You're experimenting and searching for that sound in your head. Thing is, you've got it good because of the internet. You'll probably find it before players my age and older did (I'm 35 BTW) because there was no internet when I started (do I sound old? LOL).

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

The MXR Dist+ is alright. It's not the best distortion out there. I think the Wylde OD or a Boss SD-1 or Bad Monkey would work much better. You can get a smoother tone with an overdrive versus a distortion. The clipping is totally different between the two types.

Gilbert used Laney's for quite a long time, pretty much all through the 90's and still does I think, although I've seen his face with the Marshall Vintage Modern as of late. He uses his volume control A LOT. I don't know how much you use your volume control on your guitar to vary the push and dynamics, but Paul does that quite a lot. Roll back for some clean, up a little more for mild drive, up all the way for the kick in the head.

Getting great tone doesn't happen over night. You're experimenting and searching for that sound in your head. Thing is, you've got it good because of the internet. You'll probably find it before players my age and older did (I'm 35 BTW) because there was no internet when I started (do I sound old? LOL).

you're not too much older than me dude

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

look, i just want good metal/hard rock tone that anyone can appreciate.

 

[Loserchief]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

:grumble: apparently it's not that easy to get great tone - at least not for me. i obviously don't know what i'm doing or i would have gotten it right by now

you're rushing yourself bro. expensive equipment means nothing when it comes to feel and touch. Just don't expect super fast results whenever you buy something new. You've been playing for 1-2 years now, there's a lot to do,learn and improve on your way. Don't think it will just jump ahead if you spend lots of money on gear. take your time to fiddle with setting,guitar types and all the stuff.
I mean it took me 9 years to find the right amp and guitar style for my playing and my ears and i still haven't reached the peak of my technical playing ability. I recently got the tabbook for Necrophagist's Epitah album and even if my live depended on it, i couldn't play those crazy 16th String Skipping riffs at 240bpm like they do. There's always something to learn.

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

i guess you're right, but if i slow my playing down and play stuff closer to 120-140 bpm, i should be able to get really good tone. it's the faster stuff that's harder to get great tone with, for me at least.

at this point i'd like to get great tone with moderate playing, and the fast stuff i'll worry about a few years from now.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

you're not too much older than me dude

That's good to know...lol. I've been playing since I was 14 and I didn't really get my sound nailed down until my early 20's. It was my late 20's before I realized the type of player I really am and what I'm most comfortable with.

look, i just want good metal/hard rock tone that anyone can appreciate.

As long as *you* are happy with the tone, who cares what anyone else thinks right now. The only way you will know for sure whether other people like how you sound or not is to get out there and play with others in front of people. Then, and only then, will you know. The rest of the time, you're playing to the insects around the house and your pets (if you have any). I don't mean this as putdown, that's just how it is.

 

[millsart]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

Crank your amp(s) and back off the gain. Those are the two single biggest issues that people have with not getting the tone/feel/mojo/_____ that they are looking for.

We've got so much more gain than we know what to do with these days and amps/pedals just keep giving us more more more.

People with great tones used to simply use hotter pickups, a good OD or boost pedal in front a great sounding cranked amp and they sounded awesome. Great tone, great defination and exciting dynamics.

Now we've got stuff like the Line6 "Insane" so kids in Guitar Center can play inarticulate mush with no definition or skill at bedroom levels.

Bottom line though is that great tone is supposed to be a struggle. Its not supposed to come easy, rather it needs to be pulled out note by note. Thats what makes the best players so good.

Thats why you can get the same rig as lets say Schenker and not sound like him. The tones all in the fingers.

Your supposed to have to dig in sometimes. Thats where the feel and dynamics of an exciting player come from.

It all comes down to the guys fingers though. If you've got great hands you can make any amp scream even a fairly clean on. Other guys sound like "plink, plink, dead note, plink" and think they need more gain. Thats not where its at

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

Man...speed has nothing to do with sound!
Patience and playing in bands will be much more helpful!
And use your ears more than everything else too!

 

[Loserchief]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

i guess you're right, but if i slow my playing down and play stuff closer to 120-140 bpm, i should be able to get really good tone. it's the faster stuff that's harder to get great tone with, for me at least.

at this point i'd like to get great tone with moderate playing, and the fast stuff i'll worry about a few years from now.

It's all in your fingers. Once the fingers are up to the speed without stress your touch and feel for the strings will become better at high tempos. When you feel the string you won't need as much gain since you can determine what it should sound like. Just take your time and get your hands to feel really comfy in high tempos. Personally i went through the same when going above the 200bpm mark. it took time but it will work out if you have the will for it.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

As much as I love Strats, the point someone made about using a mahogany set neck guitar with humbuckers is also a good one. That's what those guitars are built for.

I won't comment on the rest as it'll only result in the same advice I gave the dozen other times you asked this same thing in a subtley different way.

I will say this though: If you play as often as you post, you gotta be one helluva guitarist by now.

 

[ModestCargo]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

Well, I like to play a guitar with a lot of dynamics. As in, dirties up when you dig in but is otherwise pretty clean. I like to have to "work" for it, to have to at times beat the living hell out of it while at other times be soft as a feather.

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

Man...speed has nothing to do with sound!
Patience and playing in bands will be much more helpful!
And use your ears more than everything else too!

i disagree. i might not have been playing long, but i know that it's much harder to play fast. of course anyone can play fast, but to do it well is a different story. i'm not trying to shred for the hell of it. to me it's all about making music, the thing is that the music i want to make has a moderate amount of shred.

you're right though. i htink playing in bands is going to help. i need to get out and play with different musicians and get a feel for what they know and they do things. that's probably the best advice i've found in this thread.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

i disagree. i might not have been playing long, but i know that it's much harder to play fast.

I thought this once myself and I can honestly tell you after 20 years of playing, you're incorrect. Play fast and hit a clam or two and they'll get hidden in with the rest of the notes. Now, play something slow and hit a clam and everybody hears it. It is much harder to play slow lead passages than it is to play fast. There's no hiding under anything when playing slow.

 

[Gamera]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

Play fast and hit a clam or two and they'll get hidden in with the rest of the notes. Now, play something slow and hit a clam and everybody hears it. It is much harder to play slow lead passages than it is to play fast. There's no hiding under anything when playing slow.

Greg Howe said this same thing once in an interview. I think it was in a guitar mag I read many years ago and they were talking about Greg's first album.

 

[ErikH]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

Greg Howe said this same thing once in an interview. I think it was in a guitar mag I read many years ago and they were talking about Greg's first album.

I learned that all the hard way - playing in front of people. Man, that first slow song we did, everything was going smooth, I thought I had the lead break down and then BAM, there's the bum note. There was no hiding that one. After that, I read a Joe Walsh interview where he said if ya hit a bum note, play it twice and bend or slide in to the right one to make it work. Even THAT takes practice - righting a wrong. :boggled:

 

[barbarianbrute]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

Greg Howe said this same thing once in an interview. I think it was in a guitar mag I read many years ago and they were talking about Greg's first album.

i never thought greg howe was that great, IMO

 

[Vasshu the humanoid typhoon]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

but i know that it's much harder to play fast

Trust me...it is quite the reverse....
Playing slow right is much more difficult.....
But the good news is that once going great slow....well fast is just a matter of speeding up...
I almost never play fast anymore...I am still striving for that more relaxed feel with lots of momentum behind the notes...

 

[B2D]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

:grumble: apparently it's not that easy to get great tone - at least not for me. i obviously don't know what i'm doing or i would have gotten it right by now

:laugh2: You expect a tad too much out of yourself.


Hey dude... don't feel bad. Getting really good guitar tones is an art and a science. I've been playing for almost 10 years now and I'm JUST starting to be able to get really good tones consistently. It's all a learning process and it's too much to take in over a very short amount of time.

but i know that it's much harder to play fast

I disagree. playing really good with speed IMO takes second place to be able to play something really beautiful slowly. Take Jeff Beck's cover of "Day In The Life" for example. TONS of little microtonal bends and nuances and ghost notes and slurs that really make that peice and his guitar lines amazing, and every one of them has to be exactly right for it to sound just so. Let's forget the fact that that song has killer tone on it to boot, the playing along is a knucklebuster!

 

[millsart]

Re: Overdrive/Distortion and "Feel"

All I've got to say on the subject is consider (admittedly subjective) what are generally regarding as the best solo's of all time.

The true timeless classics that sound as good today as they did when recorded.

How many of those were some flashy 200bpm speed licks ?